ISLAMABAD, Jan 3: Pakistan’s raw cotton imports jumped 107 per cent to 1.35 million bales in the first five months of the 2007/08 fiscal year to November, traders and officials said on Thursday.

Pakistan, the world’s fourth-largest cotton producer, inOctober lowered its cotton output estimate to 12.80 million bales, but traders said the actual crop output could be much less.

Pakistan produced 13 million bales in the previous crop year, which runs from April to March.

“The actual figure is not even touching 10 million bales because of which many ginning factories are having to close,” said Akbar Ali Hashwani, out-going chairman of the Karachi Cotton Association.

“The shortfall is going to be at least 4.5 million bales by the end of the (financial) year.”

In June, the government set a cotton production target of 14.14 million bales but had to slash it by 1.33 million due to heavy rain in Sindh and Balochistan and mealybug and cotton leaf virus attacks in the main cotton province of Punjab.

The government is due to make a final estimate for the 2007/08 crop in February.

Another reason for growing dependence on imports was rising demand in consumption that has fluctuated between 14 and 16 million bales a year, meaning the country has to import cotton every year to meet growing demand of its textiles mills.

“Our industry requirement is going up by 8 per cent per annum and production is not keeping pace” said textile manufacturer Shafqat Elahi, a former president of an industry association.

Pakistan imported nearly 3 million bales in 2006/07. In December, authorities allowed the import of 500,000 bales of short-staple-cotton by land from neighbouring India to meet domestic needs.

Pakistan already imports cotton from India and various other countries by more expensive sea routes.

Cotton production hit a record 14.6 million bales in 2004/05. Cotton and textiles account for about 60 per cent of Pakistan’s exports.—Reuters